The Brief: Powers OK With Janek as Chancellor

UT President Bill Powers waits at the House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations on Dec. 18, 2013

The Big Conversation

If the University of Texas System regents tap Gov. Rick Perry favorite Kyle Janek as their next chancellor, they won't get pushback from the president of the system's flagship campus.

"I've known Kyle for a long time," UT-Austin President Bill Powers told The Texas Tribune's Reeve Hamilton. "I think he is an excellent person. If he were the chancellor, I would look forward to working with him." He added that the choice of a chancellor is the board's decision alone.

To that end, the UT System Board of Regents chairman, Paul Foster, told Hamilton that national search firm Wheless Partners has been signed to help with the chancellor search. The plan, Foster said, is to have the new chancellor chosen by the summer and installed in time for the start of the fall semester.

The university is looking for a replacement for Francisco Cigarroa, who is stepping down to resume his surgical career.

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